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15 February, 1972.
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New orders - Survivor Assistance Officer,
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escorting the body of a lieutenant back home - a tough but brief duty.
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TRAIN SCREECHES TO A HALT
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I'm not sure I'm very good at this. Rockville! >
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Especially in this case - I never even knew the man.
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Yes, ma'am.
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What can I say to his family?
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What can I do that will make any difference?
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All aboard! >
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Mr and Mrs Johnson? Yes.I'm Major Laird,
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the Survivor Assistance Officer.
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I've brought your son home.
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The Army extends its deepest sympathy for the loss of your son.
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His country is eternally grateful for his sacrifice.
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I'm here to do whatever I can to help you.
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If you want a military burial with full honours...
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Thank you. We want to keep it simple.
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When do you plan to have the funeral?
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Today.
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Today?At noon.
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Oh!
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# What a friend we have in Jesus
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# All our sins and griefs to bear
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# What a privilege to carry
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# Everything to God in prayer
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# Oh, what peace we often forfeit
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# Oh, what needless pains we bear
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# All because we do not carry
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# Everything to God in prayer
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# Everything to God in prayer. #
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ALL: Amen.
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Praise be to God...
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..for the power of music,
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to be able to lift our voices
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above the sorrow of this moment.
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We've said a lot about Dwyte Johnson here, this morning.
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We all know deeds, more than words, make the difference in this world.
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You know where the funeral is,
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you know that you are all invited.
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I hope to see you there.
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Dwyte...
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..was killed in war.
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Let us go out of here,
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in the spirit of love and peace.
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Amen.
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Pall-bearers.
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< All rise, please.
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< Proceed out.
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You must be the officer Ada told me about.Yes, ma'am, I'm Major Laird.
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Eudora McAlister, a family friend.
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I'm driving them to the cemetery. Would you care to come with us? Thank you.My car's out in front.
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Mrs McAlister. >
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Mrs McAlister. What...what is going on here?
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A funeral. Just as I told you.
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You told me it was a friend. Dwyte Johnson IS a friend.
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Dwyte Johnson. That boy can't be buried here!It's their plot.
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We own it legal.
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Mrs McAlister, did you really give a gravesite to these folks?
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No. < We bought it.
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Fair and square. How much d'you pay for it? >
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It's private property, Mr Oster.
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Our son died for his country, and has a right to be buried in any part of it.
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Any part but right here.
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ยญ Luther, Ada, you've got a nice casket there.
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Why don't you bury Dwyte where he belongs?
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People belong where they want to be, not where they're told to be.
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Dwyte loved this place, and he loved this town in spite of everything.
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He deserves to be buried right here.
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Look, I'm sure we can work this out.
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I'll call my commanding officer.
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We don't need any Federal intervention. This is a local affair.
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Let me read you something.
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"Within the city limits of Rockville, Georgia,
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"burial is limited to the caucasian race, or their ashes thereof."
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Now, folks, that's the law, I'm sorry, and I'm here to enforce it.
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So, let's take the casket and put it back on the hearse.
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How can you do that to these people?
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They are as much a part of Rockville as anybody.
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You're a good one to talk about Rockville!
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You're gonna ruin this town!
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I think this has gone far enough.
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Let's move on before this turns into something ugly.
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Something ugly!
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What would you call this?!
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BELL RINGS
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I'm sorry if this turn of events took you by surprise, Major.
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We had to try it directly
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without telling any more people than necessary.
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This won't be solved overnight. How long are you here for? Three or four days,
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but I'll stay as long as necessary.
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BELL STOPS RINGING
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What do you want me to do now, Ada?
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Could we keep him at the church for a spell?Sure. We'll take care of him.
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Really enjoyed that and I wanna catch you for lunch some day, OK?OK.
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Enjoyed talking to you.
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Excuse me, Chief.
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I'd like to talk to you about today. There's not too much to say, Major.
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What do you want?I'd like your help in getting Lt Johnson buried in that cemetery.Can't do that.
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So, his body is just supposed to hang in limbo?
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The place for him is about five miles out of town with his own people.
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Out of town?
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Don't blame me. It began long before my time. I just keep the peace here.
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Take a look around, this is a good town with good people.
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I watched Dwyte grow up here.
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I know what you're thinking, and rightly so. It isn't the best end,
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but, unfortunately, he died before this town was ready for this.
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Maybe if he'd lived a little longer...
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A little longer! This is the 1970s!
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Our schools are integrated and our people get along,
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maybe not perfectly, but they get along OK.
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I got things I gotta take care of.
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I did call my commanding officer.
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The army won't rest until Lt Johnson gets his due.
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The army might do better by putting that boy in a veteran cemetery.
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This was his home. His parents want him here!I'm sorry.
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You could go to court over this, you know that?That could take years.
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Do you want his parents to wait that long before they can lay him to rest? Do you?
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I can't help you, sir. You tried, you did your duty.
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Won't you let it drop?
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And that's the limit to what the army can do?
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After that it goes to the US Attorney, right?
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OK. Thank you for the information.
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Yeah.
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Milk or sugar, Major? A little milk, please.
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I had that book out earlier.
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That boy left us a lot of memories.
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You must have been very proud of him.
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Mrs Johnson...
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..when I first realised what you and your husband were trying to do...
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..I must admit I was a little surprised,
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but my orders were to render all reasonable assistance.
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I'm still here to do that...
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..even though it's taking a little longer than normally.
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But...
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Well, I've come to see what you're up against here.
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On top of all your grief, are you sure you wanna take this on?
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All my grief?
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I don't know yet how much grief's in me.
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How many tears.
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I thought I used them all up on that first night, but I didn't.
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For the rest of my life I may not reach the bottom of that river.
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But my grief, my husband's...
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..is no excuse not to do the right thing.
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You said you had no children?
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Er, no, ma'am...not yet.
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I hope you do.
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They're a blessing.
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They're such a blessing.
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Some folks, they're ready for that kind of thing, but I wasn't.
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Everything Dwyte did was such a surprise -
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walking early, talking of Blues Street,
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and playing ball like that.
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And bringing home those grade cards.
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Mr Johnson and I went to school,
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but we ain't never brought home no grades like that.
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He was a wonderment.
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You know, sometimes we'd sit and try to figure out where he'd got it all from.
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What great-grandma or grandpa had that kind of a mind.
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And when you've got a child like that,
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sometimes you don't even feel like you're the mother, you feel like...
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..you brought a gift to the world.
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A message.
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Even you yourself don't understand it - not all of it.
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And now he's dead.
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I think I can say that now.
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But he's not gone.
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Not unless...they take him out of this town.
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A town he brought honour to.
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It would be like turning time around and saying he was never here at all.
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And we can't do that, Major Laird.
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So, no matter...
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..what the grief, or how much trouble...
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..we just can't do that.
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D'you read this editorial, Jo?
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Clifford, you know I don't read it until I get you clowns out of here.
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It's about that cemetery incident.
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Listen to this. "A white woman owning a plot in the town cemetery
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"evidently donated it to the Johnson family..."
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Now, who do you suppose that is? Never guess in a million years.
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"..leading them to the false hope of burying their son there.
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Huh! False is right.
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D'you want anything else?No thanks.
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Do you know where I can get a paper, though?
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Great.People like that deserve what comes to 'em.
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And what is that?What?
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What's coming to 'em.
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You defending this nonsense, Henry?
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No, no. But I'm not going to attack it, either.
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The way I see it, the only way to get what you want is to go for it.
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They get those ideas from outsiders,
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or from kooks like er...
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..Eudora McAlister.
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Everything all right? Just fine, thanks.
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But how can you say that I used his casket as a political football?!
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I have to.Sam Jennings, we've known each other for 50 years.
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You know I'm not a political person, I'm not a "joiner".
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You belong to the "odd-balls of the world" party.
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You may even be vice-president.
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What's so odd about helping friends? Helping your friends?
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Or are you using them to make a point?
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Listen, I thought long and hard before giving them that extra plot,
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because I knew how people like you would interpret it.
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I have to interpret it. It's my job to give people some perspective!
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Do you remember what it was like in the South in the '60s?
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Remember those mobs, the violence?
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The girl blown up in a church?
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It didn't happen here. This town got through it all right.
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Get through it? We didn't get through anything,
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if someone like Dwyte Johnson can't even be buried here.
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My God, Eudora! You...measure the world from perfection downward.
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Well, I don't.
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I measure it from chaos upward. That's the difference.
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If you don't like my paper, why not start your own? You'd be good at it.
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I don't want to start a newspaper.
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I don't even want to read one for a while - especially yours.
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You can cancel my subscription.
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Again?
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What's wrong? What happened to you?
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I remember young Sam Jennings, the idealist.
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Yeah, I remember that.
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That was a long time ago, Eudora.
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Mrs McAlister!Are you going to see the editor, too?Yes, ma'am.
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Iwish I could believe it would do some good!
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PRINTING PRESS CLANGS
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SOMEBODY'S OUT THERE.
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Did you want to see me?
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I'm Sam Jennings.I'm Major Kendall Laird, Survivor Assistance Officer.
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I'm here to help the Johnsons with the burial of their son.
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And I suppose you're here to give me a piece of your mind, too.
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Sit down, Major, and go ahead.
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I just saw Mrs McAlister leave here looking mad as a cat.
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My guess is she's pretty upset about this editorial of yours.
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I didn't mention her by name.You don't have to in a town this size.
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Eudora and I go back a long time, Major.
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And over those years we've had our differences - public and private.
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But I have to say she has survived them pretty well.
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I'm not worried about her. But what about the Johnsons?
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Is this fair to them?
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It's not a question of fairness.
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It's a question of timing, the speed...Mr Jennings, this is 1972.
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Integration has been the law of the land for 15 years now.
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It may be the law of the schools, but we're talking about cemeteries.
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Where we bury our families. And that is a very personal thing here.
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Don't you think it's a personal thing to the Johnsons?
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They deserve better than this.
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Yes, maybe they do.
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But don't let this incident give you the wrong idea about our town.
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Look...Mr Jennings,
251
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:04,480
I can see you care a lot about this town. Let me ask you a question.
252
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,280
What picture flashes into your mind
253
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,640
when I mention Little Rock, Arkansas?
254
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,000
You saw it, didn't you?
255
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:17,840
The photo of the little black girl clutching her books out of fear,
256
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:22,320
being escorted into school by armed soldiers.
257
00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:26,840
Do you want Rockville to be remembered like that?
258
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,480
No, I don't. But...
259
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:33,480
If you don't want a demonstration or a Supreme Court case,
260
00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,280
you should give equal space in your paper for Dwyte Johnson.
261
00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:41,880
His men have put him up for a Silver Star...
262
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,240
..for saving their lives.
263
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,640
Are those white boys? Most of them, yes.
264
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:50,840
Isn't that a hook for your story?
265
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,600
If it's a story, yes. If it's a sermon, no.
266
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,560
Can you...get to those men?
267
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,680
Me?
268
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,600
You're the journalist, Mr Jennings.
269
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,080
Don't worry about that, Major.
270
00:24:05,120 --> 00:24:09,520
You bring me hard information, and I'll write the story.
271
00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,880
Do you mean that?Damn right.
272
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:15,080
And I'll print it. Fair and square.
273
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:17,120
It's a deal.
274
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:25,680
Colonel Holme, your original assignment was a routine matter,
275
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:31,920
but it's turned into real... Well, a very uncertain situation.
276
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:35,400
I want to help, but I don't know what to do.
277
00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,080
There just don't seem to be any guidelines.
278
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:42,080
What are the feelings in the town?
279
00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,480
I don't know exactly, sir.
280
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,840
Seem to be people on both sides.
281
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:52,720
The local editor wants to interview those who put him up for the medal.
282
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:57,800
Is this so your activity doesn't stir up more controversy?No, sir.
283
00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:02,920
In doing right, the army's got to be concerned about community relations.
284
00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:05,200
Rockville's just 60 miles away.
285
00:25:05,240 --> 00:25:11,600
I'm very conscious of that, sir. But the Johnsons are very determined.
286
00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:16,040
But you must proceed with caution. Yes, sir.Keep in touch.
287
00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:19,600
Thank you, sir.
288
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:24,880
GUNSHOTS
289
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,000
Range clear on the left?!
290
00:25:43,040 --> 00:25:46,040
Range clear on the right?!
291
00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,640
The range is now clear!
292
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:50,760
Sergeant Erskine?
293
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,880
At ease, Sergeant.
294
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:57,920
Can you give me a minute?Yes, sir. Sergeant Bradford, can you take over?
295
00:25:57,960 --> 00:25:59,680
< OK, take five.
296
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:03,800
It's about Lt Johnson. What do you want to know?
297
00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:08,640
I'm trying to help him out.With all due respect, Major, he's dead.
298
00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:13,840
Ain't nothing anyone can do for him now.Well, actually, there is.
299
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:21,960
His town doesn't want him buried in a white cemetery. You guys can help. You put him up for a medal, right?
300
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,520
Is this an official investigation?
301
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:29,720
No, I understood Colonel Holmby was gonna brief you guys on this.
302
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,760
Yes, sir. I just wanna be sure. What do you need to know?
303
00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:39,120
Well, the man died with honours. I'd like to know more about that.
304
00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:40,160
Sure.
305
00:26:40,200 --> 00:26:45,360
Well...he must have been a good officer, right?
306
00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:49,720
He wasn't afraid of nothing. And he didn't look for combat, but...
307
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:53,080
..he sure had a tendency to charge right on in.
308
00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:57,600
Sounds like you have a little problem with that.
309
00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:00,000
Sir, do you like getting shot at?No.
310
00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,240
Me neither.But, you like him?Yeah.
311
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:07,680
Did you have any feelings about serving under a black officer?
312
00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,000
Not really, all officers look alike to me.
313
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:16,640
A good Joe. The day he saved your lives...
314
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:21,920
..what can you tell me about that? Mainly I remember the rain, monsoons.
315
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:25,280
We got pinned down in crossfire near the river.
316
00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:31,640
We couldn't get any air. Suddenly all hell breaks loose with the mortars.
317
00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,800
It happened so fast. Before we knew it, he was dead.
318
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,480
The impact pushed him into the river.
319
00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,720
He got a grenade off before he died then it went quiet.
320
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:45,280
Quiet?Yeah. Major, Nam's funny that way.
321
00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:50,080
What about the man? What was he like?
322
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,480
I can't say I got to know him well, sir. Officers keep their distance.
323
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,240
There must have been something...
324
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:03,280
That's all that comes to mind, unless you have any particular questions.
325
00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,240
Will that be it, Major?
326
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:08,800
Yeah, that's all, Sergeant.
327
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:10,840
Yes, sir!
328
00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,280
Sergeant Booker T Douglas?Yes, sir.
329
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:28,320
Sergeant, come on down here, will you, please?
330
00:28:28,360 --> 00:28:33,640
I'm looking for information about Lt Dwyte Johnson.
331
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:38,920
Could you be more specific, sir? Mind if I record this?If you want.
332
00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:42,840
I'm talking to everyone in the unit. This is Booker T Douglas.
333
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,600
You men put him up for a medal, is that right?That's right.
334
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:52,160
I was wondering...did you and he have a special kind of relationship?
335
00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,840
In what way, sir? Most of the unit was white.
336
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:59,440
No, sir, he treated me just like the others.
337
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,040
And how was that?Good.
338
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:05,640
He wasn't one to get very chummy with the men, sir.
339
00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:08,360
They respected him, right?Yes, sir.
340
00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:13,680
Can you tell me about...? I want to get hold of the personal side.
341
00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:16,520
Can't help you there, sir.Why not?
342
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,920
Can't say I ever got to know him. He was a brother, but he was an officer.
343
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:24,400
No fraternisation. You dig what I'm saying, sir?
344
00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:28,080
But he was a good Joe. That's what they tell me.
345
00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:32,120
What do you remember about the day he was killed?
346
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:40,920
It was raining. Had been for days. My feet were rotting in my boots.
347
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,600
We got caught in the crossfire with Charlie.
348
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:50,640
Couldn't get no air support. Well...then all hell broke loose.
349
00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:53,400
And when it was over...
350
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,440
The Lieutenant was dead.
351
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,480
He fell in the river.
352
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,960
Will that be all, sir?
353
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:09,600
Yeah, that's all. Thank you, Sergeant.
354
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:13,560
JET FLIES OVERHEAD
355
00:30:41,080 --> 00:30:43,480
Specialist Porter?!
356
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:47,880
Yeah.Is it Kevin Porter who served under Lt Dwyte Johnson?
357
00:30:47,920 --> 00:30:52,440
Er...just a second. Let me secure these weapons.
358
00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:00,000
Sir?Can I speak to you for a moment in the office, Specialist?Yes, sir.
359
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:06,600
I heard someone was asking about the Lieutenant.Oh, yeah?Er...grapevine.
360
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:14,040
We've got three phones - one to contact the army and the other two to keep us sane.I know what you mean.
361
00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,480
So, how can I help, sir? Well, it's about the Lieutenant.
362
00:31:18,520 --> 00:31:23,880
His family has been having trouble with a few people in his home-town,
363
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:31,320
and I thought maybe your feelings about the Lieutenant could help them change a few minds back there.
364
00:31:31,360 --> 00:31:35,360
You don't mind if I record this, do you?No, sir.
365
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,360
This is Porter. PORTER COUGHS
366
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,400
What do you remember most about the Lieutenant?
367
00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:47,920
He tried to maintain more discipline in the field than most officers.
368
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,520
Guess that was West Point talking.
369
00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,520
How did you feel about that?
370
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:59,320
Oh, it was for our own good. He was great. A real good Joe.
371
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:01,760
What did you say?
372
00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:03,720
A real good Joe.
373
00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:05,960
How did you feel when he was killed?
374
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:12,560
There was nobody that died I didn't feel for. And that goes for the Lieutenent.
375
00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:18,320
That last day...
376
00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:22,520
let me know what he did to save the unit.
377
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,320
Well, we were... trapped in a crossfire.
378
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:29,360
And nobody knew how to get out.
379
00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:31,720
It was wet.
380
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:35,240
It had been raining for 15 days.
381
00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:39,040
We radioed for air support, but there wasn't any.
382
00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,360
Then from out of nowhere...
383
00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:43,760
it happened.
384
00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:45,280
What happened?
385
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:49,000
All hell broke loose.
386
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:58,640
DOUGLAS: 'Then all hell broke loose.'
387
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:05,360
BRADFORD: '..The mortars. Then, all of a sudden, all hell breaks loose.'
388
00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,840
BRADFORD: '..Black to me. A good Joe.'
389
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:15,200
DOUGLAS: 'Dig what I'm saying, sir? He was a good Joe.'
390
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,480
KNOCKING
391
00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:11,440
Is this the McAlister residence? Yes, come in.Thank you.
392
00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:17,160
Mrs M went down to the kitchen. I'm Eleanor Clark.Kendall Laird.
393
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,560
This way, please.Thank you.
394
00:34:22,840 --> 00:34:24,240
Major Laird.
395
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:30,120
Are you always this punctual? Yes, ma'am, I'm well trained.
396
00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,480
Please sit down.Thank you.
397
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:40,040
Eleanor goes to University in Atlanta, but when she's here she helps me in this big old house.
398
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,280
Tea?Yes, please.
399
00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:50,080
Won't you stay?No, thank you. I have to go.Eleanor, this is the officer I was telling you about.
400
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:56,560
His assignment is to help the Johnsons bury their son, however they choose.
401
00:34:56,600 --> 00:35:00,760
I thinkyou know my orders better than I do.
402
00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,280
No. You seem to be conscientious.
403
00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,880
Help yourself to cream and sugar.
404
00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,520
Would the army be willing to take this to court?
405
00:35:09,560 --> 00:35:11,880
Eleanor is a law student.
406
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:15,960
I hope it doesn't come to that. Or it doesn't drag on.
407
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,240
I worry for the Johnsons.
408
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:22,640
And for you Mrs M. There are all kinds of people here.
409
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:30,440
Some of MY relatives don't agree with the Johnsons. But then they never met Dwyte. We went to school together.
410
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:34,120
He's partly the reason I went to law school.
411
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,800
He never had much time to socialise.
412
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:41,880
Ada was worried about him in that way. He was always pushing himself.
413
00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,960
Even when he was very young.
414
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,840
I'd better go. Do you mind me using your car?
415
00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:54,960
Heavens, no! But check the oil. She's consuming great quantities.
416
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:59,560
One of these days I'm gonna get in there and find the trouble.
417
00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:02,720
Nice to meet you, Major.
418
00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:05,320
Same to you, Eleanor.
419
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:11,400
So, you've known the Johnsons for a long time?Yes, a very long time.
420
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:15,760
Ada's mother was a midwife. She delivered my only child.
421
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,920
So, our families are connected in life and death.
422
00:36:19,960 --> 00:36:22,960
My son, Alban...
423
00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,680
..died in the early days in Vietnam.
424
00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:33,160
And Ada was a real comfort to me then.
425
00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,840
It must have been very difficult for you.
426
00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,720
A great preacher once said,
427
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:41,600
"Be kind.
428
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:45,400
"Nearly everyone is fighting a hard battle."
429
00:36:45,560 --> 00:36:48,480
And not just on the battlefield.
430
00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:51,560
So!
431
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,040
Why did you want to meet with me, Major Laird?
432
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:57,800
I'm concerned about the Johnsons.
433
00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:03,480
You must have realised the plot was going to create a schism in the town.
434
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:07,080
I did it to heal a schism.
435
00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:11,280
This goes beyond principle - it's a personal thing.
436
00:37:11,320 --> 00:37:16,360
If you had known Dwyte, you would have known what I mean. He was...
437
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,640
something special.
438
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,680
I keep hearing that kind of thing.
439
00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:24,040
Didn't he have any faults at all?
440
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:27,160
Oh, yes. He could be demanding...
441
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,520
mostly of himself.
442
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,560
But...
443
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,080
he shone. Everybody could see it.
444
00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,680
You see... nothing was impossible to Dwyte.
445
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:43,360
Everything was a possibility.
446
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:48,800
When he was eight...he went to the library to borrow a book.
447
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:53,400
But the librarian wouldn't let him have it due to his race.
448
00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:58,520
So he said he would wait... until she changed her mind.
449
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,040
And he did. He waited!
450
00:38:01,080 --> 00:38:04,440
All day long he stood at that desk waiting!
451
00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:10,040
Huh! That poor woman - she was so unnerved by the end of the day.
452
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:14,040
If she hadn't been so decrepit, she might have tossed him out.
453
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,640
But closing time came and there he was,
454
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:24,600
and, I think, when five o'clock rolled around, she was so worn down she just gave him the book.
455
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,480
So, if it had been anyone but Dwyte,
456
00:38:27,520 --> 00:38:31,560
I probably wouldn't have given up that plot.
457
00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:36,000
But, my goodness, if he can't turn tradition around,
458
00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:40,280
we may have to wait another thirty years!
459
00:38:40,320 --> 00:38:45,160
And, of course, Ada and Luther aren't gonna budge.
460
00:38:45,200 --> 00:38:48,480
Sometimes it takes
461
00:38:48,520 --> 00:38:52,160
one person making one move
462
00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:54,560
to open people's eyes.
463
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:56,960
It's HARD to be that one person.
464
00:38:57,000 --> 00:39:00,000
But when the time comes -
465
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:02,200
and you know it -
466
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:07,240
you just say, "I guess this is it. It's me that has to do this."
467
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:44,480
What?
468
00:39:46,840 --> 00:39:51,960
I'm just remembering that time he climbed up to the church belfry and got stuck.
469
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,120
Do you remember that?Mm-hm.
470
00:39:55,600 --> 00:40:02,080
Climbed up there, couldn't get down, was getting hollered because he know he didn't have no business up there.
471
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,000
Then they came and rang the bell for church vespers.
472
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:10,800
Oh! HE LAUGHS
473
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:14,480
He had such a headache.
474
00:40:17,360 --> 00:40:21,240
Every time I started balling about it, I just cracked up.
475
00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:26,480
Oh, that boy.
476
00:40:29,760 --> 00:40:31,120
That boy.
477
00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,160
Specialist Oliver?
478
00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:52,960
Yes, sir.That's a pretty good shot. Do you do that every time?
479
00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,120
At ease, Specialist.
480
00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:00,600
You expected me, didn't you?
481
00:41:00,640 --> 00:41:06,520
Sir, before we begin, I would like to know what my rights are.
482
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:09,960
Why do you think you need to know your rights?
483
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:13,680
Sir, unless you inform me, I won't co-operate.
484
00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:18,440
This isn't an investigation. It's an informal talk about Lt Johnson.
485
00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:24,000
Do I understand, sir, I don't have to answer questions?Yeah, that's right.
486
00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:26,240
May I be dismissed?
487
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:33,680
So, you won't discuss Lt Johnson with me?Correct, sir.
488
00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:40,320
May I ask why not?! Sir, I request a lawyer is present before I say another word.
489
00:41:46,960 --> 00:41:50,480
Why don't you go back to your game, Oliver?
490
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,400
SOUNDTRACK MUSIC DROWNS SPEECH
491
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:53,040
BRADFORD: 'He wasn't afraid of nothing...'
492
00:42:53,080 --> 00:42:56,320
DOUGLAS: 'He fell in the river.'
493
00:42:56,360 --> 00:42:59,560
BRADFORD: '..Before anyone knew, he was dead.'
494
00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:05,600
BRADFORD: 'Impact. ..Threw him head first into the river.'
495
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:14,120
Remember "Stinky" Gilroy?
496
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:17,160
The minister's son, right.
497
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:21,600
He had it all figured out - one of those 20-year guys.
498
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:26,440
Calculated his retirement fund, knew just what he was gonna do.
499
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:31,800
He gets out, hangs around the house all day, drives his wife crazy.
500
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:34,640
Finally, he takes one drink...
501
00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:39,360
Well, that's not going to happen to you, Sarge.
502
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:44,680
Oh, no way. I got this place to keep me busy, I got no wife -
503
00:43:44,720 --> 00:43:48,080
never could find a woman dumb enough -
504
00:43:48,120 --> 00:43:52,160
and my drinking days are done. Two bottles of beer nowand I pass out.
505
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,520
I envy you. I always did.
506
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:59,680
You were the only guy I knew who I could imagine outside the army.
507
00:43:59,720 --> 00:44:02,120
You kept things in perspective.
508
00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:07,440
It's easy. When things start to get complicated, you take a nap.
509
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:15,200
What do you do when you can't sleep?
510
00:44:16,680 --> 00:44:19,200
Then you go talk to somebody.
511
00:44:19,240 --> 00:44:22,240
BIRDS SING
512
00:44:26,720 --> 00:44:32,440
Come on, Kenny. I know you didn't come down herejust to drown worms.
513
00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,560
Do you know of any verified cases of fragging?
514
00:44:46,520 --> 00:44:48,520
I...
515
00:44:48,560 --> 00:44:51,880
heard men in bars bragging they did it.
516
00:44:51,920 --> 00:44:55,920
The only thing I believed was that they were lying.
517
00:44:55,960 --> 00:45:01,480
I've seen others get drunk and stay silent when the subject comes up.
518
00:45:01,520 --> 00:45:04,920
Hard to know what that silence means.
519
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:09,320
My guess is, they did something too bad to talk about.
520
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:14,360
If there had been a conspiracy to kill a superior officer in combat,
521
00:45:14,400 --> 00:45:17,400
and I could get one of them to crack,
522
00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:24,560
do you think I should bring them to justice, even though it would destroy the dead man's family?
523
00:45:24,600 --> 00:45:27,920
That doesn't sound like justice.
524
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:35,520
Letting them get away with it isn't justice, either.Butjustice is an idea - it's not real.
525
00:45:35,560 --> 00:45:38,320
I mean, family, that's real.
526
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:44,120
What's REAL is it's someone who's getting shot at whilst out there.
527
00:45:44,160 --> 00:45:49,000
If ideas don't mean anything, why be willing to lose your life over them?
528
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:56,080
I'm not a philosopher. I don't think about it like you do. I don't think about it at all.
529
00:45:56,120 --> 00:46:00,280
And what we saw in 'Nam, what about that?
530
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:06,920
I don't think about things - it's not my way.
531
00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:11,440
Do you wanna ask me about 'Nam? I didn't like it over there.
532
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:16,680
I didn't have to think about it not to like it. It just came natural.
533
00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:19,920
Yeah, but you followed orders.Yes.
534
00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:24,880
You must have believed in something. In following orders!Oh, come on!
535
00:46:24,920 --> 00:46:28,760
I know you. It must have meant more to you.
536
00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:32,360
When you find out about it, why not tell me?
537
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:36,000
Come on, Kendall! What has got under your skin?
538
00:46:38,680 --> 00:46:43,600
Well, I've gotten to know the family and I would hate to hurt them.
539
00:46:43,640 --> 00:46:48,680
I've also met the men in the unit. I KNOW they're covering something up.
540
00:46:48,720 --> 00:46:51,800
I can't think what else it could be.
541
00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:00,760
I don't know. Maybe the best thing to do would be just to drop it.
542
00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:04,800
It would certainly be the easiest thing to do.So?
543
00:47:06,880 --> 00:47:08,840
So...
544
00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:12,360
You're gonna do the hard thing, right?
545
00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:31,840
Morning, sir.
546
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:40,080
Sir, Major Laird.Major, have a seat. You wanted ten minutes?
547
00:47:40,120 --> 00:47:43,800
Yes, sir, I'm on a special assignment,
548
00:47:43,840 --> 00:47:48,120
as an SAO helping the family of Lt Dwyte Johnson,
549
00:47:48,160 --> 00:47:51,000
and I've run into a problem.Go on.
550
00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:55,040
I've been interviewing some of his men stationed here
551
00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:58,440
and I may have uncovered a conspiracy.
552
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,680
What kind, Major?
553
00:48:00,720 --> 00:48:06,800
When I asked some of them to describe the battle where he died,
554
00:48:06,840 --> 00:48:10,600
they kept repeating the same key expressions,
555
00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:12,960
as if they had rehearsed them.
556
00:48:13,000 --> 00:48:17,160
They seemed nervous when recording the interviews.
557
00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:22,200
One of them refused to talk to me without a lawyer present.Major...
558
00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:26,720
are you suggesting Lt Johnson was killed by his own men?
559
00:48:27,720 --> 00:48:33,720
These men put him up for a medal, sir. Something doesn't make sense.
560
00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:39,120
You realise it's something that's almost impossible to prove?
561
00:48:39,160 --> 00:48:42,000
Yes, sir, I do.
562
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:47,160
And have you thought of the effect this issue would have on his family?
563
00:48:47,200 --> 00:48:52,800
Yes, I've thought a lot about that. I can't imagine anything worse.
564
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:58,760
Lt Johnson...was a black officer commanding a largely white unit.
565
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:03,000
Race isn't an issue in the army. Theoretically.
566
00:49:05,200 --> 00:49:09,600
It's informal for now. If you find anything substantial,
567
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:13,080
I'll turn it over for criminal investigation.
568
00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:16,320
I know how sensitive...We both do.
569
00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:19,160
We both do.
570
00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:21,640
I want a report in three days.
571
00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:26,240
Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
572
00:49:33,240 --> 00:49:38,200
Major Laird, someone just called. Here's your message, sir.Thank you.
573
00:49:47,080 --> 00:49:49,520
Yeah, Sam Jennings, please.
574
00:49:51,000 --> 00:49:54,000
Hi, Sam! ..Yeah, what's up?
575
00:49:56,160 --> 00:49:58,000
What?
576
00:49:58,040 --> 00:50:00,320
Overnight they did that?
577
00:50:00,360 --> 00:50:07,800
They bought the cemetery from the Council, made it private property and now it can't be de-segregated.
578
00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:15,360
It was Oster and a couple of his cronies. They slipped it through without informing the townsfolk.
579
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:22,200
I don't like the smell of it. They're hanging onto the status quo your editorial defended.
580
00:50:22,240 --> 00:50:26,240
No! I was not trying to defend the way things were here.
581
00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:32,680
I said I thought Rockville was not ready for change of this type at this time. But...
582
00:50:32,720 --> 00:50:34,440
I don't know.
583
00:50:34,480 --> 00:50:40,040
I've heard things said around here that I thought I would NEVER hear.
584
00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:46,080
I've even heard people agree to burying Dwyte Johnson in Rockville Cemetery.
585
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:50,120
What I'm telling you is that the town has changed.
586
00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:53,880
Maybe just an inch. But it HAS changed.
587
00:50:53,920 --> 00:50:57,800
What does that mean for the Johnsons?
588
00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,080
What have you got on that story?
589
00:51:00,120 --> 00:51:04,080
There is a complication on the military side.
590
00:51:04,120 --> 00:51:07,680
What the hell does that mean? I'm under pressure,
591
00:51:07,720 --> 00:51:10,680
all of a sudden, to...er...
592
00:51:10,720 --> 00:51:15,760
do something else in the next few days.So, you're just gonna wait.
593
00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:19,800
This isn't as easy as we thought it was gonna be.Oh?
594
00:51:19,840 --> 00:51:22,440
I'm working on it, Sam.
595
00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:25,320
I'll be in touch, OK?
596
00:51:25,360 --> 00:51:27,480
OK.
597
00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:48,240
Mr Johnson!
598
00:51:49,240 --> 00:51:51,800
Major.How are you today?
599
00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:55,320
Oh, tolerable, I guess. Back to work, huh?
600
00:51:56,800 --> 00:51:59,520
Well, not exactly.Why not?
601
00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:02,240
Oh, you know...
602
00:52:02,280 --> 00:52:07,880
Fellow called me up last week about wiring up his garage.
603
00:52:07,920 --> 00:52:12,400
I go there this morning to measure up and he says, "Forget about it."
604
00:52:12,440 --> 00:52:14,840
And that's related to the cemetery?
605
00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:18,280
I don't know.
606
00:52:18,320 --> 00:52:21,320
He lives about a block away from it.
607
00:52:21,600 --> 00:52:25,280
Do you think you're gonna lose any more jobs?
608
00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:33,800
If Dwyte was buried out of town, do you think the jobs would reappear?
609
00:52:33,840 --> 00:52:35,840
HE SIGHS
610
00:52:35,880 --> 00:52:38,280
Doesn't that make you angry?
611
00:52:38,320 --> 00:52:40,320
It makes ME angry.
612
00:52:40,360 --> 00:52:43,200
Where you from, Major?
613
00:52:43,240 --> 00:52:44,800
Wisconsin.
614
00:52:44,840 --> 00:52:49,840
Well, I expect it makes you angry because you just figured it out.
615
00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:51,960
Me and Ada...
616
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:56,320
we figured it out two or three weeks ago.
617
00:52:56,360 --> 00:52:59,320
Yes, sir, we figured it out.
618
00:52:59,360 --> 00:53:02,960
Out of all the bad things that could happen,
619
00:53:03,000 --> 00:53:05,600
we went on and did it anyway.
620
00:53:05,640 --> 00:53:08,320
Paid Mrs McAlister ยค15 for that plot.
621
00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:13,360
She said that's what she paid for it when she bought it.
622
00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:20,240
Kind of made us feel like we was... buying our freedom, you know,
623
00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:22,760
like in the old days.
624
00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:26,480
Look here.
625
00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:28,760
See that path there.
626
00:53:31,080 --> 00:53:34,080
Old Dwyte he...
627
00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:38,080
Well, we had a... basketball hoop up there.
628
00:53:38,120 --> 00:53:43,200
He had a fancy lay-up shot he used to practice. Over and over.
629
00:53:43,240 --> 00:53:46,240
Well, when the call came...
630
00:53:46,280 --> 00:53:49,280
said he was gone...
631
00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:53,760
..body was missing.
632
00:53:56,760 --> 00:54:00,760
Well, it was like he... he wasn't here at all.
633
00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:06,240
And I'd come out here and look at that path there and...
634
00:54:06,280 --> 00:54:10,120
Well, he must have been here.
635
00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:13,600
I'm a different man than I was, Major.
636
00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:21,040
Cos there ain't no way I'd be doing this, if it wasn't for Dwyte. I feel good about that.
637
00:54:21,080 --> 00:54:24,480
So, they can take the jobs.
638
00:54:25,520 --> 00:54:31,680
But there ain't no way they can take that feeling away from me.
639
00:54:31,720 --> 00:54:36,640
Look, Mr Johnson, I really do admire what you're trying to do here,
640
00:54:38,000 --> 00:54:42,480
but, before I can proceed with the army side of this,
641
00:54:42,520 --> 00:54:49,680
I must ask you if a military burial in a Federal cemetery is an alternative you're considering.
642
00:54:49,720 --> 00:54:52,280
Do you want it to be?
643
00:54:52,320 --> 00:54:54,720
It's not my decision.
644
00:54:54,760 --> 00:54:58,080
My orders are to assist you any way I can,
645
00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:02,760
but I must be certain of your wishes before I can go any further.
646
00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:07,760
I expect you think me crazy for going on with this.No.
647
00:55:07,800 --> 00:55:10,480
You're not crazy.
648
00:55:10,520 --> 00:55:12,840
Well...
649
00:55:12,880 --> 00:55:15,880
sometimes I think we're crazy.
650
00:55:15,920 --> 00:55:20,720
But then...I remember some of the letters he had written.
651
00:55:20,760 --> 00:55:23,480
Well, I don't think that any more.
652
00:55:23,520 --> 00:55:25,880
Oh, you know...
653
00:55:25,920 --> 00:55:29,640
most of them was just Dwyte being funny.
654
00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:33,560
You know how it is. He didn't want us to worry.
655
00:55:36,560 --> 00:55:41,960
He was like that - he was always protecting other people.
656
00:55:42,000 --> 00:55:45,320
That last letter, Major...
657
00:55:45,360 --> 00:55:48,320
that last one...
658
00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:54,200
Well...I...I think maybe you oughta read it.
659
00:55:54,240 --> 00:55:57,480
WOMAN: # Steal away
660
00:55:57,520 --> 00:56:01,600
# Steal away
661
00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:07,200
# Steal away to Jesus
662
00:56:07,240 --> 00:56:10,200
# Steal away
663
00:56:10,240 --> 00:56:14,680
# Steal away home
664
00:56:14,720 --> 00:56:18,480
# Ain't got long
665
00:56:18,520 --> 00:56:22,520
# To stay here
666
00:56:22,560 --> 00:56:25,600
# My Lord, he calls me
667
00:56:25,640 --> 00:56:29,440
# He calls me by the thunder
668
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:33,960
# The trumpet sounds within my so-oul
669
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:40,160
# Ain't got long
670
00:56:40,200 --> 00:56:45,920
# To stay here. #
671
00:57:08,000 --> 00:57:12,000
LOUD CHATTER AND MUSIC
672
00:57:27,320 --> 00:57:31,120
Evening, Douglas. What do you want, Major?
673
00:57:31,160 --> 00:57:33,640
To talk.
674
00:57:33,680 --> 00:57:36,760
We already talked.
675
00:57:36,800 --> 00:57:38,800
Well...
676
00:57:38,840 --> 00:57:41,400
I'd like to talk some more.
677
00:57:41,440 --> 00:57:46,920
Well, I don't want to talk to you, so unless I'm under orders...
678
00:57:51,520 --> 00:57:54,520
Could I have a draught, please?
679
00:57:57,920 --> 00:58:02,920
I hear you're a pretty good soldier. Don't want to hear it, Major.
680
00:58:02,960 --> 00:58:04,280
I'm not staying in.
681
00:58:04,320 --> 00:58:06,920
Two more months and I'll be out.
682
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:10,960
Your record indicates... I just did what I had to do,
683
00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:16,280
so don't give me "America's finest", cos I don't go for slogans no more.
684
00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:18,920
My time is short, so is my attitude.
685
00:58:18,960 --> 00:58:21,240
I'm getting out.
686
00:58:21,280 --> 00:58:25,200
I'm just trying to get a guide bearing on Douglas.
687
00:58:28,360 --> 00:58:30,960
Shove off - really.
688
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:37,320
Why are you sticking with them?
689
00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:43,360
We always hung together.
690
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:46,560
A good unit.
691
00:58:46,600 --> 00:58:50,000
Over there we kept each other alive, you know?
692
00:58:50,040 --> 00:58:55,000
Good God! I would have thought that you of all the men in the unit...
693
00:58:58,640 --> 00:59:01,960
Where are you going when you get out?
694
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:05,080
You're from Chicago, right?
695
00:59:06,760 --> 00:59:09,760
You got family there?
696
00:59:12,480 --> 00:59:19,880
How would you feel if somebody told you where you could or couldn't bury your mother, say, or your father?
697
00:59:20,920 --> 00:59:23,440
Talk to me, Douglas.Why?
698
00:59:23,480 --> 00:59:26,160
You haven't heard anything I've said.
699
00:59:30,040 --> 00:59:33,440
Was Lt Johnson shot in the front...
700
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:36,800
or in the back?
701
00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:44,400
CHATTERING
702
00:59:56,600 --> 01:00:03,360
They had lots of fishing tackle, wallet, keys, they had to walk along the shore to get home.
703
01:00:03,400 --> 01:00:06,880
The next day, they stay in a motel and watch TV.
704
01:00:07,920 --> 01:00:13,440
I end up lending them 20 bucks to buy them gas and fish so it won't look so bad.
705
01:00:18,880 --> 01:00:22,680
So, er...how's that case coming along?
706
01:00:23,720 --> 01:00:26,040
Oh, which part of it?
707
01:00:26,080 --> 01:00:30,480
The civil rights suit or the possible murder mystery?
708
01:00:30,520 --> 01:00:33,280
Going nowhere fast in both lanes.
709
01:00:33,320 --> 01:00:35,680
Who says you gotta do it all?
710
01:00:35,720 --> 01:00:43,120
I don't, but I'm afraid of what will happen, if either one of them gets turned over to somebody else.
711
01:00:43,160 --> 01:00:45,640
You're a worrier, kid.
712
01:00:45,680 --> 01:00:50,600
Always have been. Hey, remember crazy Mulrooney and his model?
713
01:00:50,640 --> 01:00:52,440
"Few things matter...
714
01:00:52,480 --> 01:00:55,480
BOTH: "..and nothing matters very much."
715
01:00:55,520 --> 01:01:00,440
Yeah, right! Except food, smokes and centrefolds,
716
01:01:00,480 --> 01:01:05,080
and then they sent him home with a perforated ulcer.
717
01:01:05,120 --> 01:01:11,400
Unfortunately, Sarge, both these things do...matter very much.
718
01:01:11,440 --> 01:01:14,960
There are a lot of people, me included...
719
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:17,320
You know how it is in the service.
720
01:01:17,360 --> 01:01:24,760
You get used to moving around, learning new names, having a few beers then shipping out.
721
01:01:24,800 --> 01:01:27,120
But there are certain faces that...
722
01:01:27,160 --> 01:01:30,680
you don't forget.
723
01:01:30,720 --> 01:01:34,040
Dwyte Johnson seems to be like that for me.
724
01:01:34,080 --> 01:01:36,680
I can't figure out why.
725
01:01:36,720 --> 01:01:40,120
I never even met the man.
726
01:01:40,160 --> 01:01:43,920
Maybe he's the guy on the other end of your saw.
727
01:01:43,960 --> 01:01:46,000
What does that mean?
728
01:01:46,040 --> 01:01:52,840
As a logger, I thought the best guy to have on the other end was your opposite.
729
01:01:52,880 --> 01:01:57,680
Like a mirror reverse, so that when he pulled, you pushed.
730
01:01:57,720 --> 01:02:00,320
So, you think we're...
731
01:02:00,360 --> 01:02:02,200
like, opposites?
732
01:02:02,240 --> 01:02:10,120
Well, you said he liked to take chances, and he didn't try to please everybody all the time.Hmm.
733
01:02:10,160 --> 01:02:16,160
You've been a good soldier, a brave one, but you're still trying to paddle the boat
734
01:02:16,200 --> 01:02:18,640
and not make waves.
735
01:02:23,320 --> 01:02:25,320
Major Laird?
736
01:02:25,360 --> 01:02:32,480
Colonel Holmby. This is Sgt Major, retired, Bill Davis, my old squad leader.Colonel.
737
01:02:32,520 --> 01:02:34,520
Nice to meet you.
738
01:02:34,560 --> 01:02:35,960
Major Laird.
739
01:02:36,000 --> 01:02:40,600
How is your special assignment progressing?It's coming along, sir.
740
01:02:40,640 --> 01:02:42,080
Good.
741
01:02:42,120 --> 01:02:47,080
General Hauer has called me about it. We can't keep him waiting.
742
01:02:47,120 --> 01:02:49,880
No, sir. I understand.Good.
743
01:02:49,920 --> 01:02:52,920
Enjoy your dinner.Thank you, sir.
744
01:02:56,920 --> 01:02:58,880
Fun guy.
745
01:03:00,800 --> 01:03:03,320
COUNTRY AND WESTERN MUSIC PLAYS
746
01:03:05,880 --> 01:03:09,840
Sure enough, the car starts going slower and slower.
747
01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:11,720
Vroom! Vroom!
748
01:03:11,760 --> 01:03:16,600
We get to the on ramp. It's downhill.
749
01:03:16,640 --> 01:03:21,680
We get out of the cab, the two of us push the cab right up to the station.
750
01:03:21,720 --> 01:03:26,520
I barrel through the airport, get to the plane before the doors close,
751
01:03:26,560 --> 01:03:31,560
get on the airplane, I sit down, takes me about an hour to get my breath and dry off,
752
01:03:31,600 --> 01:03:33,360
and then...
753
01:03:33,400 --> 01:03:36,520
and then they send my luggage to Cleveland!
754
01:03:39,480 --> 01:03:42,120
CHOKING
755
01:03:48,720 --> 01:03:55,120
I thought when you got to be 40, you didn't have to scramble around like that.
756
01:03:55,160 --> 01:03:58,120
Why don't you come down here
757
01:03:58,160 --> 01:04:01,080
and just fish for a day or two, huh?
758
01:04:01,120 --> 01:04:04,600
You can use bait or not. Yeah, sure, any time.
759
01:04:04,640 --> 01:04:07,840
Why not? You're due some time off.
760
01:04:08,880 --> 01:04:12,800
No, I was never very good at vacations.
761
01:04:12,840 --> 01:04:17,320
That was one of the big problems with Jan and me.
762
01:04:17,360 --> 01:04:22,240
Lousy vacations, it turns out, make for great grounds for divorce.
763
01:04:22,280 --> 01:04:25,080
You over all that?Oh, yeah.
764
01:04:25,120 --> 01:04:30,640
Eight years - I can barely even believe that I was married to her.
765
01:04:31,640 --> 01:04:34,280
I can believe it. I was there.
766
01:04:48,120 --> 01:04:51,280
So, you...want another beer?
767
01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:54,320
Another excuse not to talk about it?
768
01:04:54,360 --> 01:04:57,840
Look, Sarge, don't push me, OK?
769
01:04:57,880 --> 01:05:02,280
I've been going through a lot these days, a lot of pressure.
770
01:05:02,320 --> 01:05:06,640
Just don't tell me everything is hunky dory.I didn't!
771
01:05:15,480 --> 01:05:17,440
I'm sorry.
772
01:05:17,480 --> 01:05:21,760
I didn't mean to bite your head off. You're allowed.
773
01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:27,200
Yeah, here I am. Everywhere else I feel like I'm in a strait-jacket.
774
01:05:27,240 --> 01:05:32,160
I can't do this or that because of rules or because I'll hurt somebody.
775
01:05:32,200 --> 01:05:37,440
And I can't work out what the HELL is going on as nobody will talk!
776
01:05:37,480 --> 01:05:43,960
I can't keep bugging these guys with the same stupid questions over and over again.
777
01:05:44,000 --> 01:05:47,000
Why not?Because it doesn't work!!
778
01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:54,240
I barge into the NCO club at the base, and I'm talking to this soldier about the whole thing -
779
01:05:54,280 --> 01:05:57,280
black kid named Douglas.
780
01:05:58,720 --> 01:06:01,400
He turns round and walks out on me.
781
01:06:01,440 --> 01:06:06,240
I'm afraid if I go after him again, he'll clam up for good.
782
01:06:06,280 --> 01:06:10,320
And I just KNOW there's something he's not telling me.
783
01:06:10,360 --> 01:06:14,360
I don't know what you're crying in your beer about.
784
01:06:14,400 --> 01:06:18,880
You could have dropped this any time you liked, right?
785
01:06:21,880 --> 01:06:25,480
You know what your problem is, Kenny?
786
01:06:25,520 --> 01:06:30,080
What?You finally got hold of something you believe in.
787
01:06:50,080 --> 01:06:52,400
Sir.
788
01:06:58,720 --> 01:07:03,960
Look, why do you keep coming around my face?! You're driving me crazy!!
789
01:07:04,000 --> 01:07:06,600
Look, this is not going to go away!!
790
01:07:06,640 --> 01:07:12,320
Douglas, I'm sorry about what I said at the club last night. That was...
791
01:07:12,360 --> 01:07:19,520
way out of line, but something is going on and if we keep covering it up, it'll rot until it explodes!
792
01:07:19,560 --> 01:07:20,720
Tell me something!
793
01:07:20,760 --> 01:07:23,360
I owe you nothing! I...
794
01:07:23,400 --> 01:07:27,200
Let me tell you what it was like for a brother.
795
01:07:27,240 --> 01:07:34,720
I was giving blood to a white guy, I was pumping my own blood into him! And when he comes to, he sees me,
796
01:07:34,760 --> 01:07:37,000
and he starts yelling to stop,
797
01:07:37,040 --> 01:07:41,160
even when he's been told he's gonna DIE unless he takes my blood,
798
01:07:41,200 --> 01:07:45,360
this ranch-running redneck had to THINK about it!
799
01:07:45,400 --> 01:07:48,800
So...Lt Johnson ain't alone in it.
800
01:07:48,840 --> 01:07:54,840
So you should want to help him. You think I'm still part of this army. I'm not.
801
01:07:54,880 --> 01:07:59,000
How does that help Dwyte Johnson get what's right?
802
01:07:59,040 --> 01:08:04,040
The name of the game is survival. Stayin' alive! You dig?
803
01:08:04,080 --> 01:08:10,600
I'm sorry Lt Johnson's dead. I'm sorry I wake up at night sweating when it's cold out.
804
01:08:10,640 --> 01:08:14,040
I'm sorry I'm talking to you! Something is going on.
805
01:08:14,080 --> 01:08:18,360
You weren't there! You weren't in that hole!
806
01:08:18,400 --> 01:08:22,520
Oh, man, when Johnson and Buyer got hit you weren't there.
807
01:08:23,840 --> 01:08:25,320
Buyer?
808
01:08:25,360 --> 01:08:27,640
Who's Buyer?
809
01:08:28,680 --> 01:08:33,720
There's no mention in this whole place of anybody named Buyer?
810
01:08:33,760 --> 01:08:41,320
They were pulling them units out pretty fast. I doubt we'll ever get all the historical records back.
811
01:08:41,360 --> 01:08:45,360
If he was in that unit, there's three possibilities -
812
01:08:45,400 --> 01:08:49,840
he's wearing civvies, he's wearing bandages,
813
01:08:49,880 --> 01:08:52,800
or he's wearing dirt.
814
01:08:52,840 --> 01:08:57,520
Now, if you want, I can find a way of tracing him.
815
01:08:59,800 --> 01:09:02,560
I want.
816
01:09:19,720 --> 01:09:22,640
Specialist Buyer?
817
01:09:22,680 --> 01:09:24,680
I'm Major Laird.
818
01:09:29,440 --> 01:09:31,440
How's it going?
819
01:09:31,480 --> 01:09:33,560
How does it look?
820
01:09:36,840 --> 01:09:38,800
Looks rough.
821
01:09:44,400 --> 01:09:46,320
What do you want?
822
01:09:46,360 --> 01:09:52,720
I've been assigned Survivor Assistance Officer... I ain't dead yet.
823
01:09:52,760 --> 01:09:58,200
..Survivor Assistance Officer for the family of Dwyte Johnson.
824
01:10:01,040 --> 01:10:03,040
Go away.Why?
825
01:10:03,080 --> 01:10:07,880
Nothing worse can happen, so there ain't nothing you can threaten me...
826
01:10:07,920 --> 01:10:13,920
What makes you think anybody's here to threaten you? Nurse! Get him away from me!
827
01:10:13,960 --> 01:10:21,080
You're not being threatened! Is that clear?Clear? Is anything real clear to you, Major?
828
01:10:21,120 --> 01:10:23,360
Less and less every day.
829
01:10:25,480 --> 01:10:27,680
Where's your home, Buyer?
830
01:10:27,720 --> 01:10:30,360
Right here, sir.
831
01:10:30,400 --> 01:10:33,400
I mean where are you from?
832
01:10:33,440 --> 01:10:35,760
Arkansas.
833
01:10:35,800 --> 01:10:41,400
Maybe you're not surprised at the problems in Rockville.Problems?
834
01:10:41,440 --> 01:10:45,400
You don't know? You're not on the grapevine, too?
835
01:10:45,440 --> 01:10:50,880
I ain't on anybody's grapevine. I don't talk to anybody.
836
01:10:51,920 --> 01:10:58,080
The Johnson family can't get Dwyte buried. The town cemetery's all white.
837
01:10:58,120 --> 01:11:01,280
They found him? They found his body?
838
01:11:01,320 --> 01:11:04,200
Took them a while.
839
01:11:04,240 --> 01:11:06,760
Oh.What's the matter?
840
01:11:06,800 --> 01:11:11,800
Where did they find him?Down river from where you and he were hit.
841
01:11:11,840 --> 01:11:13,120
You OK?
842
01:11:13,160 --> 01:11:15,480
Where...where is he now?
843
01:11:15,520 --> 01:11:18,360
In his family's church an hour away.
844
01:11:18,400 --> 01:11:20,440
He's floating.
845
01:11:20,480 --> 01:11:23,480
He's floating like I last saw him.
846
01:11:23,520 --> 01:11:31,160
I...I can't...deal with this. I don't want to hear any more about this. Just go away and leave me alone!
847
01:11:31,200 --> 01:11:36,400
Sshh.I can't...Calm down! Just listen to me for a minute.
848
01:11:36,440 --> 01:11:38,440
It's OK.
849
01:11:41,640 --> 01:11:45,080
Buyer, I know what you went through. I was there.
850
01:11:45,120 --> 01:11:46,560
It was...
851
01:11:46,600 --> 01:11:51,400
some part of Nam that we'll never put behind us.
852
01:11:51,440 --> 01:11:59,040
But at least for us the fighting's over. We came home. Lt Johnson came home dead and he's still fighting.
853
01:11:59,080 --> 01:12:03,120
Now I'm trying to help him. You help me.
854
01:12:03,160 --> 01:12:08,040
I escorted the body of a Vietnam hero back to his family.
855
01:12:09,200 --> 01:12:13,800
And those people can't even bury their only son.
856
01:12:15,440 --> 01:12:18,840
When I started all this, it was just a coffin,
857
01:12:18,880 --> 01:12:23,880
but I go into his home, I find out this was an amazing man.
858
01:12:23,920 --> 01:12:29,280
Dwyte Johnson did more in 24 years than most of us will do in 50.
859
01:12:29,320 --> 01:12:36,120
The men who served under him, who put him up for a medal, they don't want to help him!
860
01:12:36,160 --> 01:12:38,640
And I don't know why.
861
01:12:38,680 --> 01:12:40,680
Look at me!
862
01:12:40,720 --> 01:12:45,560
You tell me what happened out there. What happened?
863
01:12:45,600 --> 01:12:50,040
Until I know it, Dwyte Johnson is not going to rest.
864
01:12:50,080 --> 01:12:54,080
And I'm not going to rest until I find it.
865
01:12:54,120 --> 01:12:57,120
You've found it.Found what?
866
01:13:00,520 --> 01:13:02,880
It was all my fault.
867
01:13:02,920 --> 01:13:04,840
What are you talking about?
868
01:13:07,480 --> 01:13:09,440
Everything.
869
01:13:09,480 --> 01:13:11,120
The air strike.
870
01:13:11,160 --> 01:13:16,920
Buyer. Tell me everything from the beginning.I can't.You can.
871
01:13:16,960 --> 01:13:20,440
I can't!You can! No, I can't!Why not?
872
01:13:20,480 --> 01:13:24,080
I can't fix... I can't change what happened!
873
01:13:24,120 --> 01:13:28,280
You're holding on to something. Let go of it!No, I...I...
874
01:13:28,320 --> 01:13:30,200
TELL ME!
875
01:13:30,240 --> 01:13:36,240
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you, but please, please, help me.
876
01:13:36,280 --> 01:13:40,280
Help me pull something good out of all this!
877
01:13:40,320 --> 01:13:44,320
Major, you don't know what you're asking me to do.
878
01:13:44,360 --> 01:13:46,680
I know I don't.
879
01:13:46,720 --> 01:13:48,840
I know I don't.
880
01:13:52,960 --> 01:13:55,960
But whatever it is, Buyer,
881
01:13:57,800 --> 01:14:00,800
this is the time to do it.
882
01:14:26,360 --> 01:14:28,560
(Buyer.)
883
01:14:44,680 --> 01:14:47,400
Gentlemen.ALL: Sir.
884
01:14:51,520 --> 01:14:55,720
Specialist Buyer refused to talk to me alone.
885
01:14:55,760 --> 01:15:00,560
What he has to say he wanted to say in front of all of you.
886
01:15:07,360 --> 01:15:12,560
The Major told me the story you been telling about how Lt Johnson died.
887
01:15:14,600 --> 01:15:16,840
< I have come
888
01:15:16,880 --> 01:15:18,560
to tell the truth.
889
01:15:18,600 --> 01:15:21,360
What the hell are you doing?
890
01:15:24,240 --> 01:15:26,360
I gotta do this.
891
01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:28,640
I don't.
892
01:15:28,680 --> 01:15:31,600
You don't know what I'm gonna say!
893
01:15:31,640 --> 01:15:33,520
SIT DOWN!
894
01:15:50,680 --> 01:15:53,560
All right, Specialist,
895
01:15:55,280 --> 01:15:57,840
take it from the beginning.
896
01:16:00,720 --> 01:16:03,560
Well, you see, Major,
897
01:16:03,600 --> 01:16:08,600
about ten days before Lt Johnson got killed
898
01:16:08,640 --> 01:16:13,880
we were sent out on a reconnaissance patrol, north of Shu Li.
899
01:16:14,920 --> 01:16:21,840
< Now, man, that's all we did. We were humping those boonies, looking for Charlie,
900
01:16:21,880 --> 01:16:25,880
like clay pigeons out looking for a shooter.
901
01:16:25,920 --> 01:16:31,400
So we get to this top of the mountain, top of the hill there,
902
01:16:31,440 --> 01:16:34,920
and, er, we looked down at the valley.
903
01:16:36,120 --> 01:16:38,120
There were VC
904
01:16:38,160 --> 01:16:40,080
< moving supplies through.
905
01:16:40,120 --> 01:16:43,640
Tell them about the lieutenant's great idea, Buyer.
906
01:16:47,840 --> 01:16:52,280
So the lieutenant says he's gonna call in an air strike.
907
01:16:53,360 --> 01:17:00,480
He checks out his map, hands me some co-ordinates, and tells me to call in the biggest strike we can get.
908
01:17:00,520 --> 01:17:03,640
And we got it, didn't we?
909
01:17:03,680 --> 01:17:06,520
It landed smack-dab on us.
910
01:17:07,960 --> 01:17:09,960
Was anybody hit?
911
01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:11,760
Yeah, Wilson. >
912
01:17:11,800 --> 01:17:17,720
Never knew what hit him. Went home in medium-sized chunks.
913
01:17:17,760 --> 01:17:21,800
BRADFORD: I wonder what they told his parents.
914
01:17:21,840 --> 01:17:24,320
The Lieutenant felt real bad.
915
01:17:24,360 --> 01:17:29,080
I don't believe this! Buyer, are you feelin' sorry for him?
916
01:17:29,120 --> 01:17:32,560
You bad-mouthed Lt Johnson more than anyone! >
917
01:17:32,600 --> 01:17:34,440
YOU called him super-spade!
918
01:17:34,480 --> 01:17:36,440
I said that to you?
919
01:17:36,480 --> 01:17:38,760
You were the most prejudiced!
920
01:17:38,800 --> 01:17:41,480
HEATED ARGUING
921
01:17:41,520 --> 01:17:43,960
I never said one racial remark.
922
01:17:44,000 --> 01:17:48,720
You never said anything good cos he made it to West Point and you didn't.
923
01:17:48,760 --> 01:17:53,960
You shut your mouth, I don't need to listen to that stuff.THAT'S ENOUGH!
924
01:17:57,520 --> 01:17:59,640
Was there racial tension?
925
01:18:08,400 --> 01:18:10,480
Porter?
926
01:18:11,520 --> 01:18:13,720
Things were getting better.
927
01:18:13,760 --> 01:18:16,360
We had a good unit. >
928
01:18:17,400 --> 01:18:19,400
We were...
929
01:18:19,440 --> 01:18:23,400
the only good thing I was ever part of.
930
01:18:26,040 --> 01:18:29,040
Well, Wilson was our first casualty.
931
01:18:31,640 --> 01:18:35,640
We were feeling real lucky up until then.
932
01:18:35,680 --> 01:18:40,840
Lt Johnson was real sharp. It wasn't like him to make a mistake.
933
01:18:43,080 --> 01:18:46,440
Yeah, but he kind of lost it after that.
934
01:18:46,480 --> 01:18:48,720
He did not lose it!
935
01:18:51,040 --> 01:18:54,520
You could see it was tearing him up inside.
936
01:18:54,560 --> 01:18:57,480
But it was too late.
937
01:18:57,600 --> 01:19:01,560
I should have told him. I tried. I just couldn't.
938
01:19:01,600 --> 01:19:03,480
What are you telling us?
939
01:19:03,520 --> 01:19:05,960
He didn't make a mistake.
940
01:19:07,640 --> 01:19:11,160
When I called in the air strike, I changed the co-ordinates.
941
01:19:11,200 --> 01:19:13,680
You did what?
942
01:19:13,720 --> 01:19:16,120
I thought they were wrong!
943
01:19:21,400 --> 01:19:24,040
Let me get this straight.
944
01:19:24,080 --> 01:19:28,440
Didn't the Lieutenant check? Yeah, but I lied again.
945
01:19:28,480 --> 01:19:33,240
< I told him they were the numbers he gave me.Why?
946
01:19:33,280 --> 01:19:36,840
Why? Why did you change the numbers?
947
01:19:38,320 --> 01:19:41,200
He figured a black man couldn't plot.
948
01:19:42,360 --> 01:19:44,360
Is that true?
949
01:19:48,800 --> 01:19:50,680
So...
950
01:19:50,720 --> 01:19:55,520
Buyer was responsible for an air strike hitting the unit.
951
01:19:58,840 --> 01:20:02,320
Lieutenant Johnson thought it was his fault...
952
01:20:03,480 --> 01:20:06,480
..and all of you thought so, too.
953
01:20:09,000 --> 01:20:10,880
All right now.
954
01:20:12,680 --> 01:20:15,600
let's get down to it.
955
01:20:17,760 --> 01:20:22,000
What happened when... when "all hell broke loose"?
956
01:20:25,480 --> 01:20:27,120
Erskine.
957
01:20:32,560 --> 01:20:36,120
Well, it was pretty much like what we told you.
958
01:20:38,440 --> 01:20:41,440
'Cept we left part of it out. >
959
01:20:41,480 --> 01:20:42,840
What part?
960
01:20:46,000 --> 01:20:51,800
Lieutenant Johnson thought that he knew where the fire was coming from.
961
01:20:51,840 --> 01:20:56,080
He grabs his grenade launcher and he shouts... >
962
01:20:58,360 --> 01:21:00,880
.."Let's take it."
963
01:21:02,000 --> 01:21:04,320
And then he jumps up...
964
01:21:08,040 --> 01:21:10,880
And what happened then?
965
01:21:11,920 --> 01:21:15,480
Buyer was the only man who followed him.
966
01:21:15,520 --> 01:21:18,280
They were cut down right away.
967
01:21:18,320 --> 01:21:21,400
Before he died,
968
01:21:21,440 --> 01:21:28,240
the Lieutenant aimed his launcher at the spot he thought the mortar was...and fired.
969
01:21:28,280 --> 01:21:30,720
Did he hit it?
970
01:21:36,520 --> 01:21:39,360
So he did save your lives?
971
01:21:42,880 --> 01:21:45,640
Why didn't you follow him?
972
01:21:45,680 --> 01:21:47,960
I don't know, sir.
973
01:21:49,000 --> 01:21:51,760
Oliver, what about you?
974
01:21:56,520 --> 01:21:59,040
Why didn't you follow him?
975
01:22:00,120 --> 01:22:03,480
Well, when the lieutenant made that mistake...
976
01:22:04,520 --> 01:22:07,760
Well, after we thought he did...
977
01:22:07,800 --> 01:22:10,800
..we started to doubt...
978
01:22:11,840 --> 01:22:14,240
To doubt his leadership?
979
01:22:16,160 --> 01:22:19,160
Would you have had the same doubts
980
01:22:19,200 --> 01:22:22,200
if your officer had been white?
981
01:22:28,080 --> 01:22:31,080
Douglas, what about you?
982
01:22:32,760 --> 01:22:37,400
I didn't follow him that day because of the way he was acting.
983
01:22:37,440 --> 01:22:41,040
I didn't know if he was the man he was before.
984
01:22:46,880 --> 01:22:53,920
How long did you hesitate? Was it, like, one second or...or fifteen? I don't think anyone knows, sir.
985
01:22:53,960 --> 01:23:01,280
Like, when you're in a car wreck, you hear the brakes squeal for what seems like forever, but it's only a second.
986
01:23:01,320 --> 01:23:04,600
It happened before we could think about it.
987
01:23:07,000 --> 01:23:14,200
If you didn't get together to plan all this, why did you get together to cover it up?He saved our lives.
988
01:23:14,240 --> 01:23:17,760
It was wrong for us not to give him the medal.
989
01:23:17,800 --> 01:23:20,240
Oliver was against it. >
990
01:23:20,280 --> 01:23:26,600
because we'd have to explain why we weren't with him when he died.
991
01:23:40,480 --> 01:23:43,440
Gentlemen, I, er...
992
01:23:43,480 --> 01:23:46,480
I want to read you something.
993
01:23:49,160 --> 01:23:53,800
This is the last letter that Dwyte Johnson ever wrote.
994
01:23:56,560 --> 01:24:01,560
I think he must have written it sometime during that last week.
995
01:24:03,120 --> 01:24:05,360
"Dear Mum and Dad,
996
01:24:06,400 --> 01:24:10,080
"only got a minute so I'll write while I can.
997
01:24:10,120 --> 01:24:15,320
"We had our first casualty. It shook up the whole unit, including me.
998
01:24:15,360 --> 01:24:17,720
"Making decisions
999
01:24:17,760 --> 01:24:21,760
"that risk death for others is a terrible burden.
1000
01:24:21,800 --> 01:24:26,040
"I care about all these men. Their lives are in my hands
1001
01:24:26,080 --> 01:24:28,920
"and my hands are not supposed to shake.
1002
01:24:28,960 --> 01:24:32,720
"They so believed in their country they'veoffered themselves to die.
1003
01:24:32,760 --> 01:24:36,840
"My job is to keep that from happening and it's so hard.
1004
01:24:36,880 --> 01:24:44,040
"Sometimes I feel so confused. Not a moment goes by that I don't ask myself,'Am I doing this right?'
1005
01:24:44,080 --> 01:24:48,000
"But don't worry about me, I'll get through this.
1006
01:24:48,040 --> 01:24:51,440
"I miss you and love you. Your son, Dwyte."
1007
01:26:31,320 --> 01:26:33,960
INAUDIBLE
1008
01:26:40,720 --> 01:26:43,720
Left. Left. Left, right. Detail, halt.
1009
01:27:16,560 --> 01:27:19,920
We're here for the funeral of Lt Johnson.
1010
01:27:19,960 --> 01:27:23,280
You, er, can't come in here for that.
1011
01:27:23,320 --> 01:27:28,920
Mr Oster, we still own that plot. You can't just take our property.
1012
01:27:28,960 --> 01:27:30,480
We'll buy it back.
1013
01:27:30,520 --> 01:27:33,240
It's not for sale.
1014
01:27:33,280 --> 01:27:35,080
< This cemetery
1015
01:27:35,120 --> 01:27:40,000
is now the private property of the Graykirk Corporation.
1016
01:27:41,280 --> 01:27:44,200
We have a racial covenant
1017
01:27:44,240 --> 01:27:47,240
and you can't bury that boy in here.
1018
01:28:02,000 --> 01:28:06,080
These are his buddies.
1019
01:28:06,120 --> 01:28:08,120
He saved our lives. >
1020
01:28:08,160 --> 01:28:11,120
And we're a good unit, mister. >
1021
01:28:11,160 --> 01:28:15,200
And when we make up our minds to do something, >
1022
01:28:15,240 --> 01:28:18,240
nobody can stop us.
1023
01:28:20,480 --> 01:28:24,440
- Am I right, Sgt Douglas? - You're right, Buyer.
1024
01:28:27,120 --> 01:28:29,920
Step aside, Mr Oster.
1025
01:28:29,960 --> 01:28:31,960
It's over.
1026
01:28:34,920 --> 01:28:36,920
Gentlemen.
1027
01:28:45,560 --> 01:28:47,280
Forward...
1028
01:28:47,320 --> 01:28:49,320
march!
1029
01:28:49,360 --> 01:28:51,720
Left. Left.
1030
01:29:27,120 --> 01:29:33,160
Well, it looks like Rockville was ready for this after all. Looks like it.
1031
01:30:24,560 --> 01:30:28,280
..of this world the soul of our deceased brother.
1032
01:30:28,320 --> 01:30:33,000
We therefore commit his body to the ground. Earth to earth.
1033
01:30:33,040 --> 01:30:35,120
Ashes to ashes.
1034
01:30:35,160 --> 01:30:37,440
Dust to dust.
1035
01:31:17,440 --> 01:31:20,440
HE SOUNDS THE LAST POST
1036
01:32:52,440 --> 01:32:55,080
INAUDIBLE
1037
01:32:56,120 --> 01:32:58,120
'February 23rd 1972.
1038
01:32:58,160 --> 01:33:01,160
'We buried Lt Johnson today.
1039
01:33:02,760 --> 01:33:04,800
'Finally.
1040
01:33:04,840 --> 01:33:08,840
'But his spirit feels very much alive here.
1041
01:33:08,880 --> 01:33:11,880
'In this town, in his men,
1042
01:33:11,920 --> 01:33:13,680
'in me.
1043
01:33:13,720 --> 01:33:16,720
'I came here as one kind of person.
1044
01:33:16,760 --> 01:33:18,840
'I'm leaving as another.
1045
01:33:20,880 --> 01:33:24,880
'Together with his family and his men,
1046
01:33:24,920 --> 01:33:27,920
'I think we made a difference.
84859
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